One hour later...

They sat together in stony silence.

Rachel was staring blankly at the wall, an uneaten plate of rice resting in her lap. Eddie had given up trying to persuade her to eat it. The most she had done was push it around her plate with her fork. After everything that had happened today, eating was the last thing on her mind. It wasn't helping that her stomach was churning either. The only thing she could actually stomach was water. If she was honest, she just wanted to crawl into bed and never leave.

Eddie's concern was only growing. Rachel had shut down completely and he was struggling to read her. He hated not knowing what she was thinking or feeling. And he hated seeing that she was so unwell and there was nothing he could do. Pestering her to go to the Doctors didn't feel like an appropriate thing to do right now. He desperately wanted to comfort her. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and never let go. But he was convinced if he even tried, she would push him away.

Unable to sit any longer, Eddie stood up. Rachel barely reacted when he took her plate from her. She just continued to stare at the wall blankly. Eddie decided to give her some space.

He took Rachel's plate into the kitchen, pouring the rice into the bin, before washing the plate in the sink.

"Is everything ok?" Philip asked, stepping into the kitchen

Eddie sighed. He knew Philip was worried about Rachel. There was no point in trying to keep anything from him. He would find out about Maxine tomorrow with the rest of the school anyway.

He turned around slowly, his eyes locking with Philip's.

"This goes no further than the walls of this house, ok?"

Philip nodded

Eddie took a deep breath. Just saying the thought of having to say the words was painful.

"Maxine is... dead"

Philip stared at him for a moment, almost in the same way Eddie himself had stared at Rachel when she had told him.

"Wha-h-how?" he stammered

"Earl Kelly, he shot her. Rachel's been at the Police Station all evening" Eddie explained

Eddie watched as Philip sank into one of the chairs at the kitchen table. The colour had drained from his cheeks as he stared at the floor. Eddie sat down next to him quietly.

"So... what happens now?" Philip asked eventually

"Well, Earl is in custody. He's being questioned. There will be a trial probably... and it'll go from there"

Philip ran a hand through his hair. He was struggling to process any of it. Earl Kelly, the kid who had been so friendly to him on his first day, had killed his girlfriend. Why?

Philip knew that Earl Kelly was bad news. He wasn't the friend that Philip had thought he was going to be to him. Even though he'd been nice to him on his first day, he'd recently found out from other students that Earl had spiked his drinks at the party. That's why he'd felt so out of it, and why he'd thrown up on Rachel when he'd got home. Earl was just another bully in disguise.

And then of course, there were the dead birds. It had never been proven that it was Earl, but everyone had been convinced. It appeared to be the truth now.

Philip hadn't known Maxine very well. He'd seen her around school. She seemed nice, albeit feisty. He felt guilty that he'd had such a lucky escape with Earl and she hadn't. Philip had, had his suspicions that Earl could be aggressive. But he hadn't expected this. When the rest of the school found out, he knew they'd be shocked too.

His mind wandered to his Auntie. She had come home in a mess. He wasn't surprised. A death like this in any situation was traumatic enough. But the death of a student, caused by another student? Philip couldn't begin to imagine how Rachel or Eddie was currently feeling.

"Are you ok, mate?" Eddie asked, breaking the silence

Philip nodded quietly

"It's... just a shock. I mean, I... knew there was a possibility he could have killed those birds, but... killing someone? I just..."

"I know" Eddie nodded, placing a hand on his arm

"How's... how's Rachel?" Philip asked

"She's in shock" Eddie explained simply

Philip nodded.

"It could have been any of us. He could have gone after anyone" Philip mumbled

Eddie nodded.

"I-I'm going to bed I think" Philip decided, standing up

"Are you sure you're ok?" Eddie checked

Philip nodded again

"Yeah. Go back to Rachel, she needs you"

Eddie smiled weakly, watching Philip walk up the stairs. He was right, Rachel did need him. But she also needed a little space. So he got on with washing the dishes.

...

Forty minutes later...

Once the dishes had been dried and put away, Eddie dried his hands, before heading back into the living room.

His heart sank a little when he saw Rachel hadn't moved an inch, her eyes still glued to the same spot on the wall. She looked so tired, physically and emotionally drained. Even though she was silent, he knew she had hundreds, if not thousands of thoughts whizzing around her brain, eating away at her.

He sat down gently next to her, taking her hand into his own. Her head gradually turned towards him, her eyes tearing themselves away from the wall. When she finally looked him in the eye, he noticed her eyes were foggy with tears and fatigue.

"I think it's bed time, love. Don't you?" he asked gently

She nodded.

With his help, Rachel gradually got to her feet. They stood still for a few moments, Rachel swaying unsteadily on her feet. Eddie held onto her tightly, tucking her hair back behind her left ear.

"Tell me if you feel sick or dizzy, ok?" he told her

She nodded tentatively.

As they made their way out into the hallway, Rachel stopped. Her eyes fell on the vomit that had stained the carpet. She needed to clean it before it made a permanent stain, or before someone stood in it.

Eddie caught onto what she was looking at. If he was honest, he'd completely forgotten she'd been sick there earlier. He could see in Rachel's eyes, the way she was staring at it, that she was worrying about the stain and the mess.

"I'll clean it later, ok? Let's get you to bed" he reassured

She groaned, resting her head on Eddie's shoulder as the room started to spin again. Eddie gently lifted her into his arms, carrying her up the stairs.

When they got into their bedroom, Eddie put Rachel down, keeping an eye on her as she slowly made her way to the bathroom.

"Shout if you need me, love" he told her

Rachel closed the door, leaning heavily against it. She felt completely numb emotionally. Her mind was so loud, a million thoughts racing through her head all at once, blurring into one another. She wished she had a remote control to turn down the volume. It was too loud.

She got ready for bed, not really paying any attention to what she was doing. She didn't even notice she had changed into her pyjamas until she looked down.

Suddenly, the bile started to rise in her throat again. She groaned. This nausea was just becoming a nuisance now. She hated it.

She dashed over to the toilet, hurling and retching into it violently.

When it stopped five minutes later, she slumped against the cool tiles, closing her eyes. She cringed at the sound of the door creaking open. Eddie's footsteps echoed through the bathroom.

"Are you ok?" he asked softly, placing a hand on her arm as he crouched down beside her

She nodded.

"Come on, let's get you to bed" he decided, lifting her into his arms

He carried her through to the bedroom, laying her back against the pillows. He wrapped the covers around her, pausing as she started to gag again. He passed the bin to her, sighing painfully as she whimpered tiredly before throwing up.

"We need to get you an appointment to see a Doctor, Rach" he told her, stroking her cheek gently with his thumb

She shook her head.

"We do, love. Something isn't right" he insisted

"I'm fine, Eddie" she mumbled

Eddie sighed. She wasn't. She was far from it. But he wasn't going to start an argument with her tonight.

He watched as she settled against the pillows, her eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. Her thoughts were pulling her back in. She wasn't going to sleep tonight. He probably wouldn't either.

Quickly, he got changed into his pyjamas and cleaned his teeth. He then crawled into bed beside Rachel. Once again, she barely acknowledged him. Her eyes were glazed over with tears as she continued to stare at the ceiling.

When Eddie moved to wrap an arm around her shoulder, she flinched, turning over in the bed so her back was facing him. She didn't want to be comforted.

Even so, the action hurt Eddie. He was only trying to help. Rachel was shutting him out. And he hated it.

"Rach, please? Talk to me" he pleaded

"I'm fine, Eddie" she repeated, refusing to look at him

He sighed deeply as he lay on his back, settling into the pillows. Rachel was far from fine. He could feel her trembling next to him, her breathing heavy with silent sobs. His instinct was screaming at him to just pull her into his arms and never let her go. Even if she didn't want comfort, she needed it. And he could give it to her.

So, as her sobs grew louder, and her breathing became more rapid, Eddie carefully wrapped an arm around her middle, pulling her into him. This time, she didn't resist or flinch away. To Eddie's surprise, she turned over, burying her head in his chest as she wept. Eddie held onto her tightly, running his fingers through her hair, giving her the comfort she thought she didn't deserve but needed.

Eventually, she gave into her body and fell asleep in the warmth of Eddie's arms.